Chevrolet Unveils New Midget Racing Engine

Chevrolet's all-new Midget racing engine was unveiled
today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by GM representatives and United
States Auto Club (USAC) team owner Tony Stewart. Designed by GM Racing
specifically for the USAC National Midget Car Series, the new
purpose-built, four-cylinder Chevrolet racing engine will initially
power Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones in
upcoming events. The new Chevy Midget engine will be available to all
USAC competitors through independent engine builders.

"One year ago, Chevrolet announced its sponsorship of Tony Stewart
Racing in open-wheel competition," said Chevrolet general manager Ed
Peper. "Now Chevrolet has taken the next step by creating an all-new
racing engine for this popular grassroots racing series. Chevrolet
races to win, and America's brand is aiming for more victories in this
uniquely American form of motorsports."

The new
methanol-burning 166ci (2.7-liter) Chevy Midget racing engine produces
more than 350 horsepower. The lightweight, inline four-cylinder engine
employs an aluminum block and cylinder head with two valves per
cylinder. Per USAC rules, the Chevy Midget engine is equipped with
mechanical fuel injection and utilizes an electronic ignition system.

“The Chevy Midget racing engine is definitely going to be an asset to
Tony Stewart Racing," said team owner Tony Stewart. "Having the
Chevrolet bowtie on the engine and not just on the side of the car as a
sponsor is indicative of how much technical support the brand has given
our program. In the past, we’ve competed with engines that were based
on Chevy parts but weren't necessarily a Chevrolet engine. The Chevy
Racing engineering and marketing staffs have really embraced the TSR
racing programs, and the debut of this new engine is the start of
another exciting new chapter in our relationship.”

Starting with a clean sheet of paper and a blank computer screen, GM
Racing engineers developed a package that is a departure from the
engines traditionally used in Midget racing. The new Chevy powerplant
stands out from its competition with an innovative architecture that
improves its combustion efficiency, enhances airflow and lowers the
center of gravity. Advanced technical resources such as computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) and solid 3-D modeling used to design GM
production engines were also used to develop the Chevrolet Midget
racing engine.

"The Chevrolet Midget racing
engine represents another step in GM's continuous development of
high-performance, high-rpm overhead-valve engines," said Tom Stephens,
executive vice president, GM Global Powertrain and Global Quality.
"Like the championship-winning Chevrolet R07 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series and the record-setting LS.7R small-block V-8 in the American Le
Mans Series, the new Chevrolet Midget engine was designed and developed
using many of the tools and technologies GM engineers employ to create
exceptional production engines like the new 638-horsepower LS9
small-block V-8."

The major components that
define the Chevrolet Midget engine package – the cylinder block,
cylinder head and certain ancillaries – will be available to all USAC
competitors. Independent engine builders can then assemble Chevy Midget
engines using internal components from their preferred suppliers.
Kistler Racing Engines of Fremont, Ohio, supplies the Chevy engines
that power the two TSR entries.

"Many of the
aftermarket engines currently racing in the Midget series are based on
the four-cylinder Chevy II engine produced in the '60s," explained GM
Racing director Mark Kent. "Others are essentially one bank of a
conventional V-8 engine. We took a different approach to bring
innovative technology to the series while respecting a racing heritage
that reaches back to the '30s. We've also incorporated lessons learned
in designing and developing race-winning engines for NASCAR, ALMS and
NHRA competition. By harnessing GM's technical resources to create a
brand-new Midget racing engine, we're putting more Chevy into the cars
that wear bowties on the race track."

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